Ender's Game (Ender Wiggin #1)

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine.

Long Synopsis:

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut -- young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Reviews of Ender's Game (Ender Wiggin #1) (2 reviews)

5 -
Excellent Review

Reviewer:
Cody Cabral

It was a great book. The mean character is Ender plus he had to go battle the buggers and kill all of them but he got very up-sad about killing all the buggers. It was not a game as the teacher thought him the game was a war. Ender won't to go home but the school don't least him go home. You should read the book.

Reviewer:
Deborah Ostas

Ender's Game is high interest fantasy/science fiction. I've been using it in my English III and IIIAP classes for over 10 years. Many of my "I hate to read" students tell me this is the only book they have actually read...and many have followed up by reading the sequels. The book has many themes that relate to social and political issues of our day -- including whether or not "real life events" ever require an individual to sacrifice his/her own desires for the greater good. Definitely a 5 star book, from an experienced teacher's point of view!